Don't call me Senior

On the set of Indiana Jones 4.

http://www.indianajones.com/community/news/news20070621.html

N.J. Dog Crowned World's Ugliest

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8PUBUIO1&show_article=1

A big surprise that it came in second last year.

(HT: Drudge Report)

Fantastic Fourmula

Although the plotline was formulaic, overall I thought that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was a decent movie. I guess I didn't have any expectations going into it like I did for Spidey 3 or Pirates 3. And while FF:RotSS had some cheesy moments and lame "I may be a geek but I'm better than a football jock" dialogue, it's definitely better than it's predecessor in the tongue-in-cheek department.

I was a little disappointed by the length of the film. With the PG rating and clocking in at 90 minutes, it seems the intent was to cater to early teens. It could have used a little more character development/interaction, but it was fun to watch. And hopefully, unlike other recent sequels, the third one in this series will be the charm.

I give Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 3.5 out of 5 surfwaxes.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Wits End

"Hey, there goes another subplot. Grab it quick. We can use it too!"
- Gore Verbinski, Director, on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Well, it's more of the same. Instead of tying up loose ends of Dead Man's Chest, PotC 3 introduces even more confusing storylines and extremely convenient plot devices. Got a massive armada ready to wipe your few ships out? Hey, no problem, we're holding the goddess of the sea hostage who happens to be squigley face's girlfriend. She'll feel sorry for us and cause it to rain. By the way, where'd she go?

I know, I know, it's all just tongue in cheek, right? Well, yes and no. I can suspend disbelief for Davy Jones and many other supernatural type things, but when Elizabeth (Keira Knightly) becomes the captain of a ship and then rallies all the pirates together with such a moving speech (yeah) to fight against the evil empire corporation mean rich bad guys, well, that's about all I can take. And what's the point of a pirate's code in a world where you can keep changing all the rules?

I think the best line of the movie was when the British Naval Lieutenant turns to short bad guy (Lord Beckett) and says, "I wonder if he has everything planned out or is just making it up as he goes along."

Now, was he talking about Jack Sparrow or the screenplay?

I give Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2 out of 5 crab cakes.

(And 2 instead of one only because ILM's visual effects were really good)

UPDATE:

The Ninja examines Pirates 3.